#but of course all the mbs are western so here it is | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

i-write-hurt-not-comfort · 1 year

Text

good evening, diabolik lovers fandom. today i would like to talk about kou and his history of drug use again, because i found something interesting while digging around some Romanian history.

content warning under the cut for discussions of the Romanian orphan crisis and, of course, drugs/addiction.

so we all know how kou used drugs as a kid, right? yeah, if you forgot, here's our two canon confirmations.

the first is from kou's MB manga prequel, and the second is from ruki's lost eden maniac prologue, as translated by @dialovers-translations.

as highlighted by the translator, it's highly likely that what kou/ruki are discussing is related to drugs, being distributed around the orphanages in the Romanian orphan crisis. if you're not familiar with this and the conditions in such orphanages, i suggest reading the wikipedia article briefly.

at one point in this article, it's mentioned that especially in the late 1980s/early 1990s, a substance known as "aurolac" was being distributed and abused both on the street and within these orphanages. the emergence of aurolac as a substance of abuse is highlighted in this article as beginning in the 1980s.

aurolac is a type of paint used specifically by Romanian orphans as an inhalant to produce a high - euphoric, a buzz, etc, though with serious health consequences attached. you can read more about this here and here. though these articles are more recently, the use of aurolac does date back to around the time the mukami's would've been around these streets/orphanages.

solvent abuse isn't exactly rare and is quite common even in the western world, particularly with teenagers due to ease of accessibility and whatnot. i think it's interesting that this aurolac is almost certainly what kou is using, especially when it looks like he's being handed a sniffing bag in this panel.

it's also interesting that children underground, a documentary regarding this issue from early 2000s, shows that aurolac can be addictive and often children/adults using it can be very stuck in this cycle.

this is probably what ruki is referring to when he says people ruined themselves with it. and kou saying he'll only use a little... my baby, that's not how it goes. it's not that easy.

seriously, i love the fact ruki probably stopped kou from spiralling into drug addiction. but with all that aside, i think it's interesting that rejet was onto something with this. maybe it's my dumb drugs fascinated brain but i'm super excited to finally know what drug kou was probably using as a kid.

how does this relate to kou as an adult, you ask? wow that's such a great question. let me talk about it real quick.

obviously given the trauma which kou endured (sexual and physical abuse) it's no surprise whatsoever he sought out substances to deal with that. aurolac is described to have a numbing feeling, and well...

i'd always headcanoned kou as using uppers like cocaine and mdma, but if he was using aurolac as a kid, maybe he'd be seeking out downers more so. heroin addict kou is staring at me right now. maybe i was onto something with that.

anyway, i hope someone else found this anywhere near as interesting as i did. if you have any further questions PLEASE ask me.

#diabolik lovers #kou mukami #// drugs #i hope someone sees me in the tag and thinks goddammit she's talking about kou and drugs again #rejet handed me a character who canonically abused drugs as a kid and I'm making everybody else's problem #yes i'm going to write a fic about this

53 notes · View notes

poetrywise · 5 months

Text

Life, sort of

I can't access Twitter lately, so I thought mb I should try to be more active here. Yes, I know I said it before, but my VPN hasn't been working for weeks and I kind of miss people. I miss life, in general. For the past nearly 2 years, life has been hell in my country: mass arrests, toxic propaganda, army drafts, idiotic laws, silencing the media and public opinion, to say nothing of the horror we have been inflicting on another country. I don't know about most people but I do feel ashamed and depressed, even though I am, have always been, and always will be staunchly anti-war. Seriously, how have people not learnt to solve their disagreements in a less insane way over the course of our history?

Today, yet another "great" news: LGBT is now considered an extremist organization. They've done all they could to torment queer people short of criminalizing queerness itself. They keep promoting so-called "traditional" values, debating whether women should be allowed access to higher education (I kid you not, this is us in the 21st century) and abortion, all the while wasting 40% of the budget on war; in the meantime, all their beloved "traditional" families live in poverty and find their social support cut. You can get 7, 15, 30 years in prison for changing price tags in a supermarket to anti-war statements, staging an anti-war play, digging into government corruption. Children are being force-fed "patriotic" claptrap at school. Bloggers get fined, arrested or forced to leave the country because they fear for their safety. Life here is a cruel joke.

I know that I personally have little reason to complain, since I haven't been arrested (yet), nor have any of my loved ones. But it doesn't mean I don't get panic attacks (I had them before, I've been seeing a therapist for 6 years, and this situation IS derailing my progress) or fear for the future. My personal future feels ruined too: I can't travel, I can't see my BFF who lives abroad, I can't get paid for my stories even if I do manage to publish them (I write in English and have had 4 stories published in America, but we can neither send, nor accept payment from abroad lately). All this feels so small compared to what other people go through, in both our countries, but it's big to ME. I can't look into the future with any kind of hope because I don't want to live in the country that makes its people and another nation suffer. (Don't get me started on actual things our politicians say, like: Well, if smb drops a nuke on us, it'll be fine, as long as it's not on the capital. [FYI, I live in the capital, but it doesn't mean turning the rest of the country into a nuclear wasteland is fine by me. WUT EVEN!])

Everyone hates my country. We deserve it. I hate my own inability to change that but I'm neither brave, nor smart enough to do anything. When it all started, I tried writing letters to politicians, but this ain't America, nb listens to the people here. The only reply I got was smth like: Well, the West is threatening us, we must defend ourselves, so STFU. Idk what bizarre illusionland these ppl live in. Last time I checked WE were threatening everybody. Including ourselves.

What's the point of this TL;DR? Idk. To speak out in some way, I guess. Like I said, my VPN isn't working, and I can't access Twitter, which is my usual platform for whining XD I'll try to post smth more positive some time. Among other platforms that don't work without VPN are: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Goodreads, AO3, various torrent sites, BBC sites, many kinds of Western media, and probably a hell of a load more I don't know about. I admire the reporters who are still publishing the truth. It's impossible to hide it from the people these days, but unfortunately, most people just watch TV, which spouts disgusting lies and propaganda.

Nostalgia is a fashionable thing lately, and here's my two cents: I loved the late 90s - early 2000s. Yes, we had problems then too. Like financial crises and local wars. But we had freedom of speech, independent news, we at least tried to respect human rights, we could travel, we had cultural exchanges, foreign tourists, and nb hated us more than any other country. I wasn't ashamed to admit where I was from. I never felt I'd be stuck in a totalitarian state because surely, surely we'd learned! We'd been through it and it wouldn't repeat again. But I guess "all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again" is a very true saying. I'm so tired. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I do feel very alone whenever I read the news. I'm lucky in the sense that my family at least shares my opinion, but on a grand scale? I don't know if any meaningful change can be achieved when we can't even form proper opposition: a few parties/organizations both here and abroad are usually at each other's throats instead of working together. So yeah, I'm tired, disappointed, depressed, and idk what else to say.

Wow, hope I don't get arrested for this XD

#personal

17 notes · View notes

agent-flyingfox · 7 months

Text

Omar/Emara Aziz - Agent Flying Fox Dossier

Note from Shawn: Sorry. Forgot to do this. Flying Fox has not taken their headshot yet, I thought I should wait until then. But he stole my donuts and is holding them hostage. I'll just get it over with now. I'll add his headshot later...

((OOC:

this is an RP blog for my IEYTD OC! the askblog community is a multiverse thing, but this blog itself is set alongside the events of cog in the machine/~1968 ish?? starting right around missions 1 and 2. there may be spoilers about it!

some rp boundaries:

- no nsfw

- no bigotry

- please tread lightly with religious/spiritual topics, especially regarding Islam. references to religion are fine of course, it's a huge part of culture/societies. just...nothing too heavy (it's a sensitive spot for me)

^i know that might be confusing considering how omar will say a religious term every now and then. for context he's a cultural muslim atheist. he still participates in culture, festivities, and language involved with his upbringing as a malay muslim. like how some atheists in western countries will celebrate christmas and say jeez and stuff!

- no terminal illness/cancer

- flirting is fine but omar is monogamous and taken, so he won't reciprocate!

- please ask before bringing any controversial topics into an rp

- anything else should be just fine though :>

mun is over 18 (23yo). please note that i am also australian, meaning i'll be asleep during most american hours. please don't hesitate to let me know if i'm overstepping or being disrespectful in any way, i want this to be fun for everyone.

note to anyone else joining the IEYTD askblog community: we've agreed to tag our introductory posts with the main tags #ieytd and #i expect you to die. but as there's a lot of us popping up now (hell yeah) we've agreed to use the side tags #ieytask and #ieytd askblog as not to flood the main tag for fans outside our sub-community. hope thats cool with everyone, and let us know if anything needs changing.

i think thats all. have fun! - @taaaaaaawnyfrogmouth))

-------------------------------------

Name: Omar/Emara Aziz

Codename: Agent Flying Fox

Place of Birth: Changi Village, Singapore

Nationality: Singaporean

Date of Birth: March 5th, 1932

Height: 5'3

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Blood Type: A

Dom. Hand: Left

Status: Alive

Flavour Profile: Sweet and Spicy

Fav. Colour: Navy Blue

Zodiac: Pisces

MB type: ISFP-A

Weapon of Choice: Advanced Lockpicks

Catch Phrase: "This isn't about me, the Doctor, or the Agency. Think what you will of me. I'll be here for him, always."

A former Zoraxis operative, a high thief and burglar-for-hire who rose up the ranks over the years. Agent Nightjar worked undercover with Omar, on the long and ambitious Operation [REDACTED]. The two had grown close over time, Omar claimied that they may have even fallen in love. They state that they had suspicions, but turned a blind eye to it until his cover was blown. Zoraxis had caught Nightjar collecting intel, and brutally injured him in a near death incident. Omar managed to save the Agent, and with his direction, brought him to the Agency Emergency Room. While grateful for the rescue of one of their agents, the Agency still had their doubts about a Zoraxis Operative changing sides so suddenly. Omar was detained for some weeks after this event – with no clear idea of what the Agency should do to him.

After some pleading and much compromise, Omar’s affiliation with Zoraxis was deemed useful. After pulling some strings, the Agency has Agent Flying Fox working for them in order to pay off his years of crime. Under strict conditions, of course. Their Agency house is dotted with cameras, microphones, and sensors. They are forced to wear a watch that tracks his every word and move. Concerns regarding Agent privacy are continually dismissed by higher supervisors, as “A single blind spot could leave us wide open.” They have been denied a TK implant.

Agent Nightjar is currently in recovery for his injuries. Agency Research & Development is working on new assistive tech for him in the meantime. This has played a part in Flying Fox’s hire, as the Agency still needs to complete Nightjar’s mission until he is able to return to work.

Agent Flying Fox’s motives are uncertain. The team tracking him continue to preach that he is “Just madly in love” and “Constantly gushing about Agent Nightjar, and would do anything for him”. Such claims are met with scepticism from higher officers. What truly motivates this individual to the Agency’s side will forever be a mystery...

BONUS:

Playlist

#ieytask #ieytd askblog #i expect you to die #ieytd #ieytd oc #i expect you to die oc #ieytd rp #agent flying fox #((i'm jumping onto the rp and ask blog bandwagon while its goin))#((also i know that. canonically the agency just handed a letter of pardon to anna ulanova like it was nothing.))#((in this universe there have been too many traitorous double agents and it has trust issues now))#((omar just happened to change sides at The Wrong Time))

2 notes · View notes

callonpeevesie · 3 years

Text

Kolkata lit student moodboard

2K notes · View notes

papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

Text

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

January 17, 1951

“The Golden Touch" is a modern re-telling of the King Midas story with Jack Benny and his friends as King Midas and his court. It was directed by Robert F. Mansfield, written by Robert Hugh O’Sullivan and with Harry Zimmerman as the composer / conductor.

“Family Theater” was a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology radio program which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) from February 13, 1947, to September 11, 1957. The show was produced by Family Theater Productions, a film and radio studio extension of the Family Rosary Crusade founded by Father Patrick Peyton as a way to promote family prayer. The motto of the the Holy Cross Family Ministries is, "The family that prays together, stays together."

Although the program had no commercial sponsor, Father Peyton arranged for many of Hollywood's biggest stars to appear including James Stewart, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Raymond Burr, Jane Wyatt, Charlton Heston, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, William Shatner, and Chuck Connors.

A total of 540 episodes were produced. The program featured not only religious stories but half-hour adaptations of literary works such as A Tale of Two Cities, Moby-Dick and Don Quixote.

Synopsis ~ Lucille Ball is the hostess and Jack Benny stars as the King obsessed with his gold and counting it. The Queen and her daughter get a Genie to sort the King out. The Genie grants the King one wish and the King tells the Genie that he can always use more gold and asks that everything he touches will turn to gold. Of course this seems exciting at first until he turns the Queen and his daughter in to solid gold.

The program was repeated on May 23, 1951.

King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This came to be called the golden touch, or the Midas touch.

CAST

Jack Benny (King Midas) was born on Valentine’s Day 1894. He had a successful vaudeville career, and an even greater career on radio with “The Jack Benny Program” which also became a successful television show. His screen persona was known for being a penny-pincher and playing the violin. Benny was a Beverly Hills neighbor of Lucille Ball’s and the two were off-screen friends. Benny appeared on “The Lucy Show” as Harry Tuttle (a Jack Benny doppelganger) in “Lucy and the Plumber” (TLS S3;E2), later did a voice over cameo as himself in “Lucy With George Burns” (TLS S5;E1), and played himself in “Lucy Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6). He was seen in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Benny and Ball appeared on many TV variety and award shows together. He died in 1974, a few weeks after taping “An All-Star Party for Lucille Ball.”

Lucille Ball (Hostess) was concurrently starring in her own radio comedy “My Favorite Husband” having starred in films from 1933. In the fall of 1951, Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz launched their iconic television series, “I Love Lucy.” After her divorce from Arnaz in 1960, Ball starred in two subsequent television series’ - “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” After a series of TV specials, she did one more series in 1986, which was not successful. She died in 1989.

Ted de Corsia (Harvey Benson, Reporter from The Daily Telegram) was an actor in touring companies and on radio before making a memorable film debut as the killer in The Lady from Shanghai (1947). De Corsia's New York street demeanor and gravelly voice assured him steady work playing street thugs, gang leaders or organized-crime bosses. On radio he starred in the CBS series "Pursuit" (1949-50). Two years before he was heard on an episode of “My Favorite Husband” with Lucille Ball.

Barbara Eiler (Princess Imogene) started acting as a teenager and appeared regularly on the radio programs “The Life of Riley,” “A Day in the Life of Dennis Day,” “The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy” and “Glamor Manor." She did a 1948 episode of “My Favorite Husband” with Lucille Ball.

Eleanor Audley (Queen Midas) played Lucille Ball’s mother-in-law on “My Favorite Husband.” She would later play Eleanor Spalding, owner of the Westport home the Ricardos buy in “Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (ILL S6;E15) in 1957, as well as one of the Garden Club judges in “Lucy Raises Tulips” (ILL S6;E26).

Alan Reed (Matthew the Butler / Tony the Cook) is probably best remembered as the voice of Fred Flintstone. He started his acting career in 1937. He acted opposite Lucille Ball in a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show” (ILL S1;E25). In 1967, he made an appearance on the Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law”. He died in 1977 at the age of 69.

Reed uses an English accent as Matthew and an Italian accent as Tony.

Verna Felton (Molly, Kitchen Help) received two Emmy nominations for her role in the Desilu series “December Bride,” playing Hilda Crocker from 1955 to 1959. She did two episodes of “I Love Lucy,” including playing Lucy’s stern maid, Mrs. Porter. Felton voiced many characters for Disney.

Felton uses an Irish accent as Molly.

Howard McNear (Ipsuda, Magician) played Mr. Crawford, Little Ricky’s music teacher on “I Love Lucy.” McNear went on to play Floyd the Barber on “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1961 to 1967, filmed on the Desilu backlot. He was also seen in Lucy and Desi’s 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer.

Frank Nelson (Genie / Mr. Gene Blue) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.” On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.” Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.

Howard Culver (Jake Workman, Ice Man) was best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's “Gunsmoke.” On radio he starred in the title role of the Western adventure series “Straight Arrow” which aired on Mutual from 1948 to 1951.

Tony La Frano (Announcer) was the regular announcer for “Music Depreciation” (1945) and every episode of “Family Theatre” (1947-1957).

EPISODE

Hostess Lucille Ball introduces the show, which was broadcast in front of a live audience. Lucille urges listeners to pray together as a family. She then introduces Jack Benny as the King, to great fanfare.

Instead of Benny, the show opens with Imogene on the telephone of a busy office in the Kingdom of Midas. Harvey Benson, an American reporter, arrives to see the Queen, who thinks he is there for money, but he wants the story of something that happened there recently. She tells the story in flashback...

A month ago, King Midas is at breakfast with his family. Imogene complains about having cornmeal mush for breakfast again, but Midas reasons that they have a 752 pounds of corn (thanks to the foresight of his father), so they must eat it!

Matthew, King Midas’ butler, suddenly quits after 32 years! He is tired of carrying the King’s gold. He is also tired of the mush. Because of an ancient decree, the help must eat whatever the King eats.

Imogene and the Queen insist King Midas counts his money too much - 80 million dollars a day! Once the King is gone, the Queen sends Imogene on a mission to see a magician named Ipusda to buy a genie.

At Ipsuda’s shop, Imogene has her pick of genies - even ones vacuum packed in cans (only for tourists)! She buys the blue bottle special for 5 gold pieces - plus a small deposit on the bottle! Imogene brings the magic blue bottle back to the Queen, who says the magic words: “Genie out and at attention! Do the chores which I will mention!” The giggling Genie immediately appears, talking in rhyme, very amused at his own cleverness. They promise the Genie his freedom if he does as bid. The Queen whispers the orders to the Genie, without letting Imogene know.

Next morning, Imogene and the Queen introduce Midas to his new servant - the Genie! At their bidding, he conjures up bacon and eggs. Midas hates the Genie’s rhyming. He asks Midas what one wish he wants more than anything else in the world. Naturally, he wants more gold.

The Genie grants him with the skill to turn everything he touches to gold! The Genie pops back into the bottle. Imogene notices his utensils have turned to gold - then his eggs - then his coffee.

Before he can stop himself, he turns his own daughter to gold! Midas demands the Queen bring the Genie back, but she refuses and storms off.

Midas hears the kitchen servants Tony and Molly arguing in the next room. Tony goes to shake his hand, but he turns to gold! He touches Molly and she, too, turns to gold.

The ice man arrives and sees the two golden servants. Signing for the ice, the King tries to give him the golden pencil as a tip! Midas explains his problem - everything he touches turns to gold. Jake is about to phone his brother-in-law, Ipsuda, but when he learns that it was the work of a genie, he hangs up. All they can do is wait for the Queen to return to get the Genie out of the bottle!

Time passes and Jake reveals that the King is not as highly regarded in the Kingdom as he thinks. The King admits to being money mad. Midas decides to start giving his money away - starting now!

The Queen arrives and she Midas admits that he never wants to see gold again as long as he lives. After accidentally turning Jake to gold during a hug, the Queen summons the Genie to change the King back - in return for his freedom and a good job. The Genie removes the curse.

Flash forward to the Queen’s interview with newspaper reporter Harvey Benson. Mr. Gene Blue, the president of the relief organization, enters. He makes a joke about his name sounding like “Benson Burners.” He laughs hysterically as the music swells.

Lucille Ball closes the show by asking if the audience knows how Hedda Hopper makes a hat, comparing it to how scientists make a concoction out of ordinary things to create something incredible: jewels out of sawdust, perfume out of coal tar, medicine out of weeds or mold. She says the power of prayer, just like the ordinary things that create something magical, are there all the time, but must be used to get benefits: the jewel of a happy home life, the perfume of uplifted hearts, medicine for a sick world.

LUCILLE BALL: “The family that prays together, stays together.”

Announcer Tony Lo Frano reads the credits and says that next week’s program Walter Brennan and Bette Lynn in “A Star for Helen” with the honorable Frank Walker as host.

5 notes · View notes

yahoosg-feature · 5 years

Text

4 things to consider when choosing your TCM clinic

With dozens of TCM clinics and practitioners on our little red dot, how are you supposed to find the one that will help you manage your health and wellness, reliably? Here, four things to consider.

1. What kind of qualifications and education do the practitioners have?

TCM is highly regulated in Singapore, and practitioners need to meet strict criteria to be registered with the TCM Practitioners Board. You can check if your practitioner is registered here. Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinics recruit only the best of the best: Physicians with at least a year of post-qualification residency; Associate Physicians with five years or more of clinical experience; and Senior Physicians with 10 years plus experience. Assessment by the Medical Board and special exams are required before physicians are employed or promoted.

2. How does the clinic ensure that practitioners stay up to speed on best practices?

In 2019, the government passed new laws mandating practitioners to continuously study and upgrade their knowledge, but Eu Yan Sang was already ahead of the game in that respect. It’s the only clinic in Singapore to have a Medical Board (MB) of Western medical specialists and senior TCM physicians who oversee standards in the clinic. All physicians are subject to regular clinical audits, and there’s a rigorous education programme to ensure consistent high standards.

3. How does the clinic manage patient safety when it comes to medication?

It’s essential to start with sourcing of quality herbs, all of which must be approved by the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore. Then it comes down to dispensing, which is where the expertise of the practitioner and the standards of the clinic come in. All Eu Yan Sang Clinics’ physicians know how to create tailor-made herbal medications that maximise effectiveness and safety, and minimise side effects. A state-of-the art award-winning Management System ensures that there are two levels of stringent checks on every medication to ensure its accuracy and safety. In other words, Eu Yan Sang is applying the prescribing standards of western medicine to TCM and demystifying it in the process, which means a more efficient service with less room for error.

4. How well does your practitioner understand you?

TCM believes that we are all made up of two opposing forces, Yin and Yang, and when the balance is upset, diseases and illnesses may arise. Of course, Eu Yan Sang Clinic believes that nothing beats preventative care and treatments are prescribed to balance the Yin and Yang in every individual – which will help prevent diseases or rectify any symptoms you may have.

TCM is all about re-adjusting your ‘vital life force’ by diving into the root of your health issues with diagnosis, therapy and medication. This involves checking for a group of signs and symptoms that involves inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry and palpation, with a strong emphasis on the body’s constitution. There is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution even for those with the same condition, as prescriptions are given based on the different root causes and body constitutions. That’s why even if you think your sister has the exact same symptoms as you, she might receive a completely different treatment plan – because TCM is personalised, tailored and unique to every individual. So you should always consult a licensed TCM physician for an accurate diagnosis.

Keen to give TCM a try? From now till Jan 31, 2020, quote “YH” at participating Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinics and Wellness Clinics to enjoy a session of consultation with three days of medication for $42. Only valid for new patients. Subject to physician’s diagnosis to determine treatment plan and suitability. Senior physicians are included.

Visit Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinic for more information or to make an appointment.

This content was produced in partnership with Eu Yan Sang.

#1197784413 #10088137 #health #tcm #yinandyang #naturaltherapy #healthandwellness

1 note · View note

mikumanogi-blog · 3 years

Text

2021-08-30 “What are summer memories?” Hayakawa Seira blog [ENG]

Good evening everyone! I’m Hayakawa Seira, I come from Osaka and I’m 21 years old. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

We’re already in the final stages of August. It’s almost the end of summer isn’t it.

On this day I’ve been wanting to listen to ‘Hitonatsu no Nagasa yori…”

Recently I’ve been addicted to zoning out and listening to music on my veranda at night! The cool air from the air conditioner is nice but the night breeze feels nice too. However, it’s still hot outside so please make sure to take measures against the heat. ☺︎

Well then, today I’m going to talk a lot about the memories of summer〜!

Thank you for watching our live concert on the 21st and 22nd of August in Fukuoka Marine Messe. Not only to those that came to the venue, but since the concert was live stream there were also many people that were able to have a fun time with us online. It makes me very happy. Everyone, as always, thank you very much ^ ^

The first day was the ceremony commemorating the 10 years since the formation of Nogizaka 46, day two was Momoko-san’s graduation ceremony.

Unfortunately, last week it was also announced that the date for the Tokyo Dome concert had been postponed. That means that this live concert in Fukuoka will, for the time being, end the Midsummer tour, and that gave me some feelings of nervousness.

Congratulations on your 10-year anniversary Nogizaka46. Thinking about it now, being in this amazing group and thinking about how the senior members built the group’s reputation makes me want to cherish the group even more than before.

I was able to sing these precious songs together with the senior members during the 10th anniversary commemorative ceremony as well as perform in a new song ‘Tanin no Sora ni’. It’s such a bright song and the choreography consists of the choreography of all the title tracks up till now. Dancing it was a lot of fun ^ ^

The final song that we performed ‘Kikkake’ is one of my favorite songs. This is the song that we 11 members of the 4th generation sang during the live concert after overcoming ‘3 nin no Principle’. It’s strange that each time I sing this song the feelings I associate with it change. This time I also felt a different version of ‘Kikkake’. I feel a little more mature than the previous time.

The second day was Momoko-san’s last live concert. Momoko-san is a very honest and kind person, she often came up to talk to me, smiled at me, just by her being there I felt warm inside. During the 27th single I was glad that I got the opportunity to talk to her even more than I have ever before. It makes me feel sad.

I want to work while cherishing the remaining time we have together.

This summer tour happened over the course of our 27th single. There was still a lot of things I wasn’t familiar with yet but through the live concerts I was able to face myself and over the course of the single I was able to grow a lot. The feeling of continuing to run forward without giving up is the landscape that everyone I met on the tour help create. It’s all thanks to the fans who continue to support me at all times. Thank you very much.

I’m going to do my best during the 28th single.

Next, it may be sudden but, the other day on “FNS laugh and music〜 song and laughter festival〜” we performed our 28th single ‘Kimi ni Shikarareta’ for the first time. Did you watch it?? Kakkii was really shining as the center of the song, it’s a fun song.

I love the section of the choreography when Chima-san and I hold hands and spin. She squeezes my hand while smiling at me 〜

I feel like we’re going to start performing it more and more, so I’d be happy if you were to check it out from various camera angles.

Next, I have an announcement regarding the details of the 28th single. This time I’m very pleased to participate in a unit song, ‘Moshimo Kokoro ga Toumei nara”. The unit’s members are 3rd generation members Umezawa Minami-san and Nakamura Reno-san along with Matsuo Miyu-chan and me. It’s a wonderful song so please look forward to it ^ ^

http://dlvr.it/S6PpPY

↑further details can be found here.

The other day, the 4th generation members performed at @JAM EXPO2020-2021! Thank you to everyone that came to the venue and to everyone that watched online. This time we performed Girls Rule and all of the 4th generation songs. It’s been a long time since we’ve done an in-person festival, it was super fun, and the time just flew by. I was especially glad that we were able to perform ‘Out of the blue’, “Nekojita Chamomile Tea’ in front of an audience since we’ve never performed it in front of audience before. I saw a lot of towels, uchiwa fans and penlights ^ ^

After the 5th generation members join, I wonder if we 4th generation members will stop appearing at festivals? Thinking about it makes me sad.

Time will definitely pass every day, so I want to cherish each and every day ^ ^

We did a flirty pose☺︎

☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎Announcements☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎

☀︎ Nogizaka46’s 48th single ‘Kimi ni Shikarareta’ will go on sale Wednesday September 22nd.

The 28th single ‘Kimi ni Shikarareta’ will be released next month. I’d be happy if you were to listen to the unit song I’ll be participating in ‘Moshimo Kokoro ga Toumei nara’. I’m pleased to announce that the ballots for the online meet and greet have concluded. I received a lot of applications, thank you very much! I’m very happy! I’m looking forward to talking with everyone ^ ^ You can check the details of the national event information among other information whenever online. Thank you very much.

-TV-

☀︎Nogizaka Star Tanjo! Nippon TV every week on Mondays, the next episode will be at 25:34. It’s a tv show where the 4th generations are challenged to sing hit songs from the Showa and Heisei era. Last week I sang ‘Natsuzakari Hono Jigumi’ with Shoinji-san! How was it?? Unfortunately, it wasn’t recorded on Hulu. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Singing with Shoinji-san was very funny, and the time just flew by ^ ^ I laughed a lot〜

To those that missed the last episode please check it out on Hulu!

https://www.ntv.co.jp/nogistar/

↑details can be found here!

-Radio-

☀︎The Hit Studio Every Wednesday at 24:00 on MBS Radio.

Next week Nishikawa Takanori-san, Takada Shu-san, Hasamatsu Ikumi-san and me will be together. Recently our theme has been trending topics! Of course, the people in Kansai and in other regions can listen to it on ‘radiko’. Please make sure to listen ^ ^

I’ll be waiting for your mail, messages and opinions!

https://cgi.mbs.jp/cgi-bin/form/mail/hitsui.cgi

↑you can send them here!

http://radiko.jp/share/?t=20210826000000&sid=MBS

↑Last week’s broadcast can be found here!

☀︎INNOVATION WORLD (KYOCERA TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE) J-Wave, Every week on Fridays around 21:40.

In September the creative director, editor, Hakuhodo’s company executive, and Hakuhodo Kettle’s executive creative director Koichiro Shima will be holding an online future lecture! Please look forward to the first broadcast ^ ^

http://radiko.jp/share/?t=20210827200000&sid=FMJ

↑You can listen to the final week of Tanijiri Makoto-san lecture here on radiko.

☀︎Radirer! Sunday NHK Radio 1, Sunday September 12th between 20:05-22:55

During the Paralympics, Next Radirer! Sunday both Tamura Mayu-chan and me will be appearing. Everyone, let’s have a fun time ^ ^

Radirer! NHK Radio 1 – NHK online

↑I’ll be waiting for a lot of your mail!

-Magazine-

☀︎Platinum FLASH, currently on sale.

This is the first time since becoming 16 members that we’ve got a picture together on the front cover! I’m very grateful. Unexpectedly, it’s a special feature that extends 100 pages. I’d be happy if you were to check it out. There is a special appendix with a 4th generation member clear file attached! Please check it out.

I was paired with my beloved Mayu-tan for some pictures ^ ^ please check it out.

☀︎Young Gangan, on sale Tuesday September 3rd

This year I was once again able to have a gravure published in Young Gangan! Tsutsui Ayame-chan is on the front cover ^ ^ Please make sure to check it out.

!!!! The unreliable Q&A!!!!

· What’s the number one thing that has made you say ‘grrr’ recently?

→After washing my black colored western clothes with my other clothes the black color bled into my white pillow cover, t-shirts, socks and they all became blackish pink. Grrrr….

Unreliable

· Which senior member do you want to get closer to?

→On the new song I’m positioned close to Kitano Hinako-san and so I want to take advantage of this opportunity and try to talk to her

Unreliable

· Can you tell us a behind the scenes story of the Nogizaka Fractal photoshoot!

→During the photoshoot last winter, we took it in what seemed to be a warehouse and it was so cold we were shivering! So nostalgic (o^^o) winter seems as if it’s almost upon us.

Cold or hot, in the end both are good aren’t they.

Unreliable

· It’s almost the end of summer and so what are some of the summer memories you had from this year Serra-chan?

→In my work I went to some extremely rural places! It was super fun and felt like a summer vacation ^ ^I’ll tell you more!

· During this summer heat I find it difficult to sleep and so I want to know at least one thing you do during you night routine \( ¨̮ )/

→I always have the light dimmed down and once I do that I’m able to fall asleep instantly ^ ^ If I work late at night I find it hard to sleep and so I understand how you feel!

Unreliable

The end!

As always thank you for all your comments. Last time I received a lot of Happy Birthday messages at the made me feel happy. Thank you ^ ^

I talked about a lot of things this time and so I’ll talk about yesterday’s final meet and greet next time ^ ^

As always, thank you.

Thank you for taking your time to read this blog to the very end.

See you soon!

2021.8.30 Serra

https://blog.nogizaka46.com/seira.hayakawa/2021/08/062927.php

0 notes

hunterskills837 · 3 years

Text

Top Fps Games For Mac

Posted on the 04 September 2020 by Viney Dhiman @vineydhiman

The best 50 FPS (First Person Shooter) games for Mac OS daily generated by our specialised A.I. Comparing over 40 000 video games across all platforms. This list includes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Prey, Serious Sam 4 and 46 more for Mac OS. Looking for FPS games to download for free? Here are the top free FPS games for PC for 2020, including Devastator Arena, Cemetery Warrior 4, Dungeon Quest, and more. Download only unlimited full version fun games online and play offline on your Windows 7/10/8 desktop or laptop computer. Fast and secure game downloads.

When It comes about gaming, mac is not a very famous name among gamers, As Windows PCs are used to be way more efficient and powerful and suitable for the better gaming experience.

Even before Mac didn’t use to have many good games whereas for windows pc gamers every major publisher released the game for the windows operating system. Now, the Situation is not the same as before these days many good and popular games are available for mac users and many of them are free as well.

That’s why today we have compiled a list Best Mac Games for Mac users that are free as well.

1. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike is a very popular name among gamers, launched 20 years ago since it hit the market, it became a popular game name. Counter-Strike: GO is a free, first shooter team-based action game.

The game has two teams one is of terrorists and the other is of Counter-Terrorist; Terrorists have to go to the Counterterrorist area and blow it by planting a bomb there. Whereas Counter-terrorist has to stop and kill the terrorists and protect the area from planting the bomb.

You can play Counter-Strike solely with a Computer player, online on via LAN with Family and friends and You can play with online players as well as the game has more than 20 million monthly active users.

Availability: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is compatible and available on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Playstation 4, and XBOX One.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2400 or better / NVidia 8600M or better

OS: Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later

Processor: Intel Core Duo Processor (2GHz or better)

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Storage: 15 GB available space

Download Counter-Strike: GO for Mac/ Price: Free

2. Fortnite

Fortnite is a massively popular Free to Play, Battle Royale game, a flying bus takes you in a flying bus to in the middle of a giant map with other 99 players, where you all have to compete with each other, to be last standing person to be a winner.

The Fortnite game has three different modes which are ‘Save the World’, ‘Battle Royale’ & ‘Fortnite Creative’. All three modes are interesting but I liked the Fornite Creative mode as it gives access to players to create their battle arenas and their world to play.

Availability: Fortnite is available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Xbox One and Playstation 4

Minimum System Requirement

Graphics: Intel Iris Pro 5200 or equivalent AMD GPU on Mac

Processor: Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz ( .recommended Core i5-7300U 3.5 GHz )

Memory: 4 GB RAM or More

OS: Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6 or Above

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Console Commands | PC Gamer. Note: Mac computers must be required to support Metal API if you are not sure if you machine support metal API or not you can check here, and Fortnite is no longer supporting Nvidia cards on Mac.

With minimum requirements, you can play Fortnite on the mac but of course not on the best graphic settings. To play Fortnite with minimum system requirements, you need to reduce the graphic settings and maybe need to disable background applications as well.

Download Fortnite for Mac / Price: Free

3. Team Fortress 2

The most Popular names among Action and First Person Shooter, free to play the game are Team Fortress 2. The game has cartoon-like visuals and players can join one of the team, Red or Blu, and select one of the characters out of 9 classes of character to battle.

The game has two different game modes as well; Capture the Flag & King of the Hill. Screen record on mac with audio quicktime. The game has got critical acclaim and recognization for its art direction, gameplay, humor, and use of the character in this multiplayer-only game.

Availability: Team Fortress 2 is available on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Linux, Mac operating systems.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon X1600 or better

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.70GHz ( At least 1.7GHz Processor Clock Speed)

Memory: 512 MB or More

File Size: At least 15 GB

OS: OS X Leopard 10.5.8 and above

Download Team Fortress 2 for Mac / Price: Free

4. Alien: Isolation – The Collection

Alien Isolation is a survival horror, stealth, and action game, Awarded for BAFTA Awards for Best Audio Achievements. Not just the Audio but Visually also this game is striking.

In the Game, you have to survive from aliens, and they are going to hunt you down by using their senses which gives you a dynamic experience of persistent fear. There are many things you can improvise to survive in the game such as hacking the systems, craft items to deal with the coming situation, and look for vital resources.

Availability: Available on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: 1GB AMD 5750, 1GB Nvidia 650M, 1.5 GB Intel Iris Pro 5200

Processor: 2GHz Intel Core i5 or greater

Memory: Minimum 4 GB RAM

OS: Mac OS version 10.10.4 or above

Storage: 35 GB available space

Download Alien Isolation for Mac / Price: $39.99

5. Sniper Ops 3D

Sniper OPS is one of the best 3D shooting, free to play the game, Not any Shooting Game is FPS and war game that’s addictive as well. Sniper OPS has more than 200 levels to play, and the best part is being an offline game; so, you don’t require the internet to play this game.

You can choose weapons including sniper guns and rifles of your own choice, Complete the mission levels by hunting and killing terrorists. You need to help the Army and Police to clean their territory by killing enemies.

Availability: Available on Windows, Mac OS, Android & iPhone.

Minimum System Requirement

Graphics: AMD Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce (1 GB)

Processor: Intel CPU Core i3 @ 2.1 GHz

OS: Mac OS X 10.8.5 Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Memory: 4 GB RAM or more

Storage: 1 GB available space

Download Sniper OPS 3D / Price: Free

6. Paladins

Another game on our list is Paladins, a free to play, shooting game, instantly became popular as this game has a blend of the modern world with a magical element. The game has both kinds of weapons including advanced modern and supernatural weapons.

Paladins let users customize your characters in a variety of ways as it includes deck-building elements as well. Without a doubt, Paladins is an action-packed, best free shooter game for Mac that is extremely fun to play and addictive.

Availability: Available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating system.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: ATI or Nvidia graphics card with 512MB video ram Shader Model 3.0+ support.

Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz

OS: OS X 10.10

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Storage: 10 GB available space

Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card

7. Day Of Infamy

Day of Infamy is a strategic tactic team-based multiplayer, a first-person shooter video game. The game is featuring a very realstic combat of World War II across the battlefields of Western Europe.

You have to destroy enemies and their equipment, secure positions, assassinate enemy officers, and you need to move forward by working with your teammate. The game features grenade launchers, sling, cloth wraps, extended magazine, customize weapons with bayonets, also. If you are love to face challenges in a game, then it’s for you you would not be disappointed.

Availability: Available on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

Minimum System Requirements

Processor: Intel® Core i3 Processor (2GHz or better)

OS: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Storage: 12 GB available space

Download Day of Infamy / Price: $14.99

8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Deus Ex is Cyberpunk augmented action, Role Playing Game ( RPG Game ), Game is moving in Futuristic Prague city where you are playing the role of Jensen.

In the Game, you can evolve and upgrade Jensen’s abilities by earning and gaining experience points. To gain Experience Points, you have to complete various missions and tasks; both critical-path tasks and involved side tasks.

Availability: Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Classic Mac OS.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: 2GB AMD R9 M290 or better

Processor: 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 or more

OS: macOS 10.13.1 or above

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Storage: 67 GB available space

Download Deus Ex: Mankind Divided/ Price: $29.99

9. Overload

Overload is a First-person shooter 3D video game, features awesome graphics, intense action, and the ultimate effect of the zero-gravity shooter. The game has more than 12 + Challenge modes include countdown and infinite; Focus on survival or efficiency changes according to mode.

Overload can be played solely, and multiplayer (with LAN as well) and supports VR also. You’ll have to destroy robots, rescue the survivors, and reach to destination before the whole thing will blast off.

Availability: available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS.

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: Shader model 3.0 support

Processor: SSE2 instruction set support

OS: Mac OS X 10.8+ or above

Memory: 4 GB RAM or more

Storage: 8 GB available space

Download Overload for Mac / Price: $29.99

10. Superhot

One of the Most addictive and coolest game is Superhot, an independent first-person (FPS) game. It is the most innovative and minimalistic game. as there is no health regeneration, story or ammo drops the only neck to neck gameplay.

Even in Superhot Time only moves when you do, which gives you time to create and implement your survival technique to live. You’ll see many times Bullet-time from matrix movie kind of animation with minimal graphic, but kudos for innovation and stylish yet minimal graphics which make it easier to play this game on any mac device.

Availability: Available on Mac, Oculus Quest, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch,

Minimum System Requirements

Graphics: Graphics card with 1024 MB RAM

Processor: Processor: Intel Core I5 or later

OS: OS X 10.9 or later

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Storage: 3 GB available space

Download Superhot for Mac / Price: $24.99

Bonus: PUBG

Player Unknowns Battle Ground aka PUBG is the most played game from the last few years. PUBG is a first-person shooter, a battleground action game, in which the last player standing wins by eliminating the other 99 players.

As in PUBG 100 online player participate to play a match, the game also allows you to play is solely, or make a team of 2 or 4 then last standing person or squad will be the winner. The game has a huge map, many kinds of weapons and grenades, vehicles such as cars and bikes also. The Player has to Find and equip weapons to kill other players to win.

Gamers have to search for the equipment and weapons and kill all other players last standing player will be the winner.

Availability: PUBG game is available on Windows, Android, iPhone, Playstation 4, Xbox One.

Note: PUBG is a massive hit game but they are still not officially launched for Linux and Mac OS, as the company claimed there are not enough players for these OS.

Minimum Requirement on Mac

A 64-bit processor and operating system

Processor: Intel Core i5-4430

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB / AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB

DirectX: Version 11

Storage: 30 GB available space

To Play PUBG on Mac, You need to either install Windows on Mac using BootCamp or Wine; OR You can Install Android Emulator like Bluestack or any other alternative.

Fina Worlds

All of the games, that we mentioned above in the post are the best games in the First-person Shooting genre, But I personally liked the two games the most i.e. Superhot and Alien Isolation.

Superhot we like for its simply innovative which they merged with stylish minimal characters and Alien Isolation for its Striking graphics and fearful storyline and experience.

Tell us what game you like the most and what else you were expecting to see on this list.

On a Windows PC or a computer, it is comparatively easy to install and play games you like. Mac computers are best in productivity and in the design but since a long time Mac users have compromised on gaming. Well there is some good news, now even Mac users can enjoy best gaming on their Mac. Now Mac users have a dedicated revolutionary gaming store that is Steam. So, without further delay let’s look at some of the best games on Steam.

10 Best Games on Mac Steam in 2019

1. Killing floor

If you love to play horror games then killing floor should be the first choice. The game is a survival horror FPS in which you need to cleanse hostile creatures in an English countryside with your team of six which must work cooperatively. Completion of each round gives you money to upgrade your weapons. The quality of the game is proven by it being one of the most loved game since 2009

2. Besiege

If you know what is art of destructions then another best Mac game on Steam is Besiege. There is a lot of building and destruction involved. It can be an hour’s task or can also be ended earlier. We love the game because there is no need to be stuck on it for days or months to solve the mysteries. You can create something which is magnificent or something that will be destroyed by just pressing space bar. You can get it for $6.99 which is definitely worth considering what the game has to offer.

3. League of legends

League of legends is one of the most popular game people play online. There are around 68 million players who play this game. If we talk about MOBA world then this game is the perfect entry. This game is one of the top 10 Mac games for free to play and there is nothing to lose. You can spend hours playing this game and enjoying the new battle grounds.

16 Best Data Recovery Software for Mac 2021Accidental file deletions or file corruptions can be a serious problem, especially when we are not relying on cloud services..

4. Counter Strike: Global Offensive

When it comes to top steam games almost every gamer knows this game very well. Like it always happens in CS you have to join either terrorists or the counter terrorist team. You can choose from 5 different game modes and in all the modes you should defend yourself from getting killed, because in that case you need to wait until next round for re-spawn.

5. Team Fortress 2

The classic game Team Fortress doesn’t require an introduction. It is a team based game. Goofy and riddled it is a perfect pick for everyone. Despite the number of years that this game has been around for, it still has a growing fan base. In this game you will find different people with different weapons.

6. BioShock

BioShock is a FPS game and has been around from the last 10 years. It is compatible with multiple gaming platforms such as PlayStation Xbox. So, you may find large number of online partners. Graphics of the game are beautifully designed and give you a real feel of diving deep inside.

7. Tomb Raider

Every day you will find new steam games but who hasn’t heard of Tomb Raider? Lara croft, one of the biggest gaming icons made a comeback in 2013 with a new title Tomb Raider. For those who need introduction for this game, Lara Croft is an archaeologist who stumbles across many adventures. Like always this game is known for its beautiful design and you will love to uncover the adventure.

8. Broken Age

Broken Age is an art style story book game which is really refreshing. All and all you can control two main characters, a girl and a boy who live abroad with computerized parents. The relationship between characters is something which you will have to solve by yourself.

Best Free Fps Games For Mac 2020

9. Final Soccer

Next pick is for sports lovers. If soccer is your favorite sport and you have VR compatible kit then you will find this game the best Mac game on Steam. Visuals of this game are awesome and you will find yourself lost in it. With your VR kit you need to stretch yourself but you will really enjoy playing it.

Fps For Mac

Must Read:-

Upcoming Sci-Fi Games Guaranteed to End in NerdgasmsReady for these Sci-Fi games? Keep your devices ready as these Upcoming Sci-Fi games are on the way, ready to..

10. Golfing Over It

For all the golf lovers this game will be a perfect pick. You might have played lots of games with the Normal golf set but this game is different. You need to bounce the golf ball over different shapes and creations. If you can do it perfectly you will level up. The game is lightweight and a perfect pick to refresh your mind.

So, these were 10 best Mac games on Steam. Apart from this you can choose from more than 6000 games on the store but if you are a beginner then first you should choose from top 10 Mac games for free. With this now Mac lovers will also have better gaming experience than ever before.

0 notes

blastoisemonster · 3 years

Text

Mario And The Neverending Picross

My Mario No Picross 2 photography post is dated March 17th, so that purchase is exactly a month old. It’s April 18th as I’m writing this post, and I’m still just at the middle of this game. Yes, it is THAT big. While it’s true that I have alternated it to Broken Sword and work, but it’s no doubt that this game is so massive it makes its predecessor look like a mere demo. I settled down yesterday afternoon determined on completing the ninth world, and it literally took me 5 hours (from 6 PM to 11 PM, no kidding) to complete that and the secret, tenth world. And that was just the Mario part! There’s another whole lot of puzzles to complete with Wario! This game is massive: the more I advance the more I ask myself how could they fit so much in a Game Boy cartridge. What’s the max capacity of these little wonders? Up to 8 Megabytes? Ok, now I can see where they got all the room: I thought the max was just 1 Mb.

Let’s also not forget that each puzzle presented is divided in 4 parts, each of which is a full, big Picross to solve. I made a bit of calculations here and... The first world has 8 puzzles, then from 2nd to 10th world there are 10 each, plus 16 picrosses presented as a “final boss”, so total count is 408. Assuming Wario’s part (which I haven’t even started yet) has a same puzzle amount, the grand total should be 816. Yowza. Oh! The “Easy” Picross course (which are just puzzles composed by one part, which I think are 10 for Mario and Wario as well) and “Bonus” stages (in which the player must discover a sentence by picrossing the letters -in this case, Japanese ideograms- one puzzle at a time) haven’t been counted yet. Let’s round it up to 900 puzzles.

After trying out my original cartridge, I discovered that the internal battery had run out of power and as a result, the game plays just fine but it can’t save; if one had to complete Picross on that cart, they should do it in one sitting, which absolutely isn’t possible. I had to resolve to playing this game on emulator. Playing Picross on computer has its ups and downs: such a game on a portable console could mean so much time killing while waiting your turn in offices or during long car rides, but having it on a computer which constantly reminds you have work to do makes the whole experience similar to a chore, as in “I gotta finish this game fast so I can go back at my money earnings”. On the good side, I could take good screencaps of my puzzle journey, because some of these Picross had to be picture documented!

If you were wondering why this game has never gotten out of Japan and you were thinking “it’s just because Europe and USA didn’t turn out to be as Picross crazy as Nintendo of Japan” you’re partly right, meaning that even if they wanted to export such title to western countries, they’d have had to face with so many localization problems that it would have taken quite some time to fix. The game was explicitly thought to be sold just in Japan, and as such it has many puzzles related to japanese-only traditions and figures of speech.

We’re starting with the most iconic ones, for example:

Sumo athletes...

The festival of blooming cherry trees...

Uuuhh, public saunas, or better yet, family bathtime (yeah, it’s a “group thing” in Japan)...

Watever the heck that is but it looks japanese enough...

And then there are the even stranger ones, like:

Would you ever belived something like that came out on a Nintendo approved cartridge?

It’s a guy riding a bear and weilding an axe. The Hiragana title spells Kintarou, known in Japan to be a folkroristic heroic figure. Try explaining that to american or european kids!

What is this?? A wedding? An army? A marathon? A horde of faceless zombies?

And as grand finale, here are some of the stuff which we would have never seen approved by NOE and NOA:

Playboy bunnies, one with a pimp even! I’m not making this up!

50 shades of Picross.

And the prize for the most terrifying Picross goes to...

It’s a guy pointing a gun to a criminal who’s holding a lady in hostage. With another gun. This is serious, guys: there’s a picture of an armed hostage scene in a Game Boy puzzle game. Alert the media.

And if you were wondering, the prize for having gone through all of that is...

Tits. Ancient sphynx lady tits, to be precise.

For what it concerns bonus rounds, I was convinced the resulting sentences were of vital importance for plot progression, but I took some time with a friend to translate the Hiragana and what I got roughly translates to...

“Mario to Ruiichi zu wa itsumo naka o tabeta no ka“, which has something to do with Mario Luigi and, unsurprisingly, food. What’s sure though is that these little sentences I thought there were good game suggestions are instead only silly riddles like “She sells sea shells”, nothing more.

In conclusion: is Picross 2 massive? Definitely. Is it fun? Most of the times, especially when you end up with a Playboy bunnygirl puzzle. Will I continue and complete the Wario part as well? Not now, gimme a break!

#Diary

0 notes